“I Have a Question!”: The Educational Value of Virtual Reality Since the 1950’s, virtual reality (VR) has been hovering on the periphery of technology without achieving accepted mainstream application or commercial adoption. However, that is beginning to change and virtual reality has become a popular topic within the latest technological headlines. According to TechCrunch, VR startups have raised more than $1.46 billion in venture capital, and people believe that this is the year that VR will finally take off. Virtual reality provides an escape from reality through a “portal” to an alternate reality with a landscape that feels realistic. As VR becomes more popular, some educators and employers are looking to incorporate VR as a primary teaching tool due to its widespread and numerous uses. However, while virtual reality may seem like a beneficial educational tool, problems will inevitably arise from the development and implementation of VR in education, and a middle ground will need to be discovered.
While statistics on VR use in K-12 schools and colleges have yet to be gathered, the steady growth of the market is reflected in the surge of companies solely dedicated to providing K-12 schools with “packaged educational curriculum, content, teacher training and technological tools” to support VR-based instruction in classrooms around the world. However, this is not the first time that this concept had existed. On one hand, it is important to keep in mind that there are
Although this specific program will likely not become available to average consumers, the same foundations for the simulation will be available on the marketplace while being affordable at the same time. In time, applied use of virtual reality such as the Oculus Rift will become mainstream and accepted in everyday life not only due its entertainment value, but also due to its affordability for consumers everywhere. Thoughts of virtual reality often resemble fantastical scenarios reminiscent of scenes in movies with similar themes like Gamer, The Matrix, Total Recall, and Inception. After one delves into the VR technology in products such as the Oculus Rift, one will begin to believe, and he or she will brace themselves for the tidal wave that is the paradigm shift of virtual reality.
In your life, have you ever thought about using virtual reality? Have you ever taken to time to actually look at and think about both sides of virtual reality? Well virtual reality, is good and many people doubt that because of all the cons. But there a lot of pros that defeat these cons. It won't only help you, but it can make you happier and proud. People like to believe in a lot of things, but not everyone sees both sides of everything, especially when it comes to virtual reality. Virtual reality, it develops people it guides people. It’s like being you and creating yourself in the form that you can feel best in. It can be used to do a lot of things but many people are blind to that and just see everything one sided. Virtual reality should be allowed because it’s helpful to struggling or disabled people, therefore virtual reality isn't a cancer to the world, it’s a solution.
Virtual reality(VR) is a relatively new frontier in the technology industry. So new in fact, that, at its current stage, what it is and its potentials are unfamiliar to the general public. VR originally started gaining momentum as a new platform to game on, but its potential must be analyzed broadly in more than just one vocation. Because of the immersion VR provides, it has an immense capacity to benefit the educational field. Everyone is unique in the way they learn best; some people learn best by reading, some people learn audibly better, and, some people learn visually.
When the words Virtual Reality come into the display, a great deal of people assumes that it’s interactive Video Games. In other words games where the player can interact with the environment around him. Pick up various items and throw them around as they continue on exploring the limitations of the server. Lots of parents believe that VR, much like normal games are a waste of time for their children and in a sense, they are completely right. But disregarding VR as mere video games can be fatal mistake, when in Reality the VR reaches far beyond games for teenagers.
Virtual Reality is the newest cutting edge technology that is hitting the stores in massive amounts and taking over the video game industry. No one can deny that the technology is pretty impressive and fun to use. VR is accompanied with products such as the Oculus Rift that help the reality come to life. The Oculus Rift is a special type of goggles that is strapped to your face and allows you to view virtual reality games. With the direction and improvements in this field of technology, it can start to make you wonder how this can be shifted to be very beneficial to the society as a whole. With the uproar that Virtual Reality is causing in the video industry, how could it affect the medical and educational
Imagine a world, that is anything and everything. Race a dream car. Meet a superstar. Go to Paris, New York, London, or even see the Great Pyramids. A virtual reality - an idea that is coming to life, an idea that will change the world, whether it be good or bad. Ernest Cline, the author of Ready Player One, warned us that virtual reality is going to change the world. Ready Player One is a story about a teen named Wade, in a world where video games are everything. A virtual reality world called the OASIS changed the world into a place where people are antisocial and don’t care about the world anymore. Change with VR can already be seen with the invention of the TV, the phone, the iPhone, and numerous other inventions, It’s already happening - the world is blowing up over Vive, Oculus, Hololens, and more, and VR is going to make things happen: such as solving problems. Is change happening? Are problems going to be solved? Yes, we can already see change.
This has been the most common trend among avid video game players and movie-lovers. Many people loved to experience virtual reality. However, nobody realized that this might also cause problem in the future, wherein people will no longer rely on the real experience and will only depend on computer programs to gain such feeling
When asking the question, is the road to virtual schooling smoothly paved, the answer is no. Virtual schools can be effective and may be a better approach for students with certain situations, such as injury, lengthy illness, bullying, and issues with anxiety to name a few, but there needs to be an established set of requirements put in place first. However, virtual schooling may not be appropriate for elementary age children. In addition, low-performing students benefit more when placed in an environment where there is communication with peers, and instant scaffolding is available when needed to help the student’s understanding of the content. If we do not adapt to the changing times, and get away from our love of tradition, we will continue to be behind in the advancement of technology and 21st century skills. With that being said, the idea of a fully online curriculum is not an idea to be supported. There needs to be an advancement of technology in the school curriculum, but the jump to virtual school is not in the best interest of all students.
I am not able in joining you (yet) in an intellectual discussion of VR. I am familiar with Tom Campbell; I have taken one of his workshops.
Once the technology had been developed to a point where it could actually be utilized, VR was often seen as more of a tool than a new method of entertainment. The technology was fine-tuned and then used in flight simulators during the 70s to train pilots before they got into a real plane. The technology then made its way to the entertainment industry during the video-game boom of the 80s. Since its inception, Virtual Reality technology has found a wide range of uses in very unpredictable ways. The military, the space program, medical students and even driving schools use virtual training environments that take place in a version of Virtual Reality.
Currently, only 5% of schools use VR, but is subject to change because of the increasing demands of these units(Emerging Education Technologies). It is certain that this technology will excite children and students to learn new subjects by giving them the opportunity to explore unfamiliar locations, being introduced to future occupations one may pursue, and visually allowing the student to see, and experience, a hands on approach in classes (Staff, TeachThought).
(96) Virtual reality (VR) is define as a cybernetic simulation of 3D surroundings which can be interactive through auditory, sensory and visually stimulating equipment, i.e. gloves, headgear or headphones. VR is an incredibly recent development in technology and such has much room to progress with, I believe that VR is the future of animation as the key aim is to transport the viewer into the world we have created, VR being the next logical step as it creates this suspension of belief as well as activating all of the senses we use to perceive the real world.
VR is more than an upgraded version of Cinerama or a theme park ride, as it achieves not only a greater sense of presence, but through the use of computer technology, the capacity to direct one’s gaze and movements so that one can explore and move around inside the illusory flow of images [3]. The main imperfection in simulation at present comes from the difficulties inherent in presenting a sufficiently convincing computer generated image. Presenting a convincing visual input to a human being requires a computer which can handle a vast amount of information. This is both difficult and expensive with existing technology.
Virtual reality defined as to produce and create the effect of an interactive 3D world in which the objects have a sense of spatial presence by using computer technologies. Our perceptual and cognitive system will be presented by precise clues in order for our brain to interpret and understand those clues as outside object in 3D world. In addition, virtual reality suggest a lot of benefits and advantages to education of technical such as delivery information through multiple active channels, addressing of dissimilar learning styles, experiential-based learning and so on ( Bell & Fogler, 2004, p 217).
Virtual reality is defined as the electronic simulations of environments experienced through head mounted goggles and wired clothing to enable the user to interact in realistic three-dimensional situations (Biocca). It has recently gained attention throughout the gaming subculture in the form of the Oculus Rift, a new console that allows users to interact with a constructed 3D environment. However, its potential does not end there. It is already being applied to provide hands on training for surguries (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1356924/) and scientists are finding applications for it in ocean and space exploration http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/spacevr-wants-to-take-you-aboard-the-international-space-station/